No child pornography found in home of Stillwater stabbing victim, investigators say

STILLWATER — A box containing pictures of young boys was found by investigators in the home of Dennis Pegg, but they weren’t the nude child photos being sought by the attorney representing one of Pegg’s accused killers, a Sussex County prosecutor said Tuesday.

Last week a man came forward to authorities alleging he’d been abused by Pegg decades ago and that the murdered man had owned a box of salacious photographs.

"What the witness described was definitely pornographic," First Assistant Sussex County Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said during a hearing Tuesday before Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti in Newton. The judge had ordered Pegg’s assets frozen and an inventory made before they were distributed to his heirs.

As to the box found in the house where Pegg was stabbed to death on June 12, Mueller said, "We have young boys in photographs, but they’re definitely not pornographic."

Daniel Perez, who represents accused killer Clark Fredericks, 46, of Fredon, said, "Look, the one thing we’re all looking for is a box of child porn. It existed at some point. It raises the question of where it is and who has it."

Two members of Fredericks’ family have claimed Fredericks was also molested by Pegg decades ago when he was a Boy Scout and Pegg a troop leader. The killing was a result of years of rage over the assault, they said.

Mueller had not yet seen the pictures unearthed by investigators, but said, "There was nothing remarkable about the photos. It wasn’t nudity."

However, Perez said, "evidence that may not be relevant today may become relevant somewhere down the road."

Pegg, 68, didn’t leave much to his heirs, said attorney William Haggerty, who spoke during Tuesday’s half-hour hearing. Clothing, furniture and a few personal effects, including a family Bible, have already been given to Joshua Orinowski, a co-executor of the estate, said Haggerty, who prepared Pegg’s will.

Pegg was killed inside a modest rental house on Millbrook Road the night of June 12. Unmarried and living alone, he had paid the rent until July 15, said Haggerty, who expects to hand over the keys of the now-empty rental to the landlord Thursday.

Fredericks has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly slitting Pegg’s throat and stabbing him more than 20 times. He was arrested a day later, telling authorities Pegg "got what was coming to him" and had been a "child molester for years," according to the arrest affidavit.

Robert Reynolds, 47, of Hackettstown, a friend of Fredericks, has been charged with helping him kill Peg and hiding evidence.

Fredericks, his left hand still heavily bandaged from injuries he allegedly suffered while attacking Pegg, and his co-defendant did not speak during the 30-minute court session.

Superior Court Judge Edward Gannon is expected to decide Thursday on the disposition of 14 letters left by Pegg that were found in a safe deposit box he rented at a bank in Stillwater.

Fredericks and Reynolds are being held in the Sussex County Jail on $350,000 bail each with no 10 percent option.

Lee Liddy, an investigator with the sheriff’s office, said Fredericks is being held in a "medical watch" cell separate from the general jail population due to his hand injury. Reynolds is being held with the general population, he said.

Liddy said he did not know if the other inmates were supportive of the two murder suspects.

"We only get reports of ‘hot activity’ if they’re having a problem," he said. "They’re not having problems with the other inmates."